Beethoven: String Quartets Opp. 131 & 18, No. 4

Beethoven's last five quartets contained "more rhythmic music than was ever written in the 20th century," according to Stravinsky. "With an emotional range that stretches from playful to granitelike power" (Chicago Sun-Times), Beethoven's late quartet Op. 131 is an Everest for any ensemble, but Demark's Paizo Kvartetten surmount it with grace and agility. The earlier quartet is in C Minor, the same key as the Fifth Symphony and a very personal one to Beethoven.